Apparatus for casting tubular ingots or iv



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

w. HEOKERT. APPARATUS FOR CASTING TUBULAR INGOTS OR METAL TUBES.

Patented Oct. 20

2 Sheets-Sheet 2'.

(No Model.)

HE'G'KBRT. AHARATUS FOR CASTING TUBULAR INGOTSOR METAL TUBES.

Patented 001;. 20, 1896.

n l ii UNITED STATES l PATENT Orricn WILLIAM HEOKERT, OF FINDLAY, OHIO.

APPARATUS FORCASTING TUBULAR INGOTS OR METAL TUBES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,641, dated October 20, 1896. Application filed lllay 2, 1891. Serial No. 391,385. (No mmlelh To all whom it may concern:

Be it known. that 1, WILLIAM HECKERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Findlay, in the county of Hancock and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Casting Tubular In gets 0r Metal Tubes 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to apparatus for easting tubular ingots or metal tubes; and the object is to provide improved means for this purpose by which the desired result may be accomplished without material loss of time or waste of metal in the form of scrap, incident to the use of apparatus heretofore devised for similar purposes.

In molding steel ingots and tubular articles in accordance with the methods and apparatus heretofore in general use, at each time the mold is filled a certain amount of waste re sults from'the fact that the metal which chills in the gate and runners connecting the ingots is rendered unfit for use and must be broken off and reinelted with the scrap or thrown into the scrap-heap. It has also been found in practice that in pouring the molten metal the ladle-nozzles are liable to become clogged or the stoppers deranged, so that the metal cannot be poured out of the defective stopper, and thus the molten metal in the ladle must be poured out of a single opening at one side thereof and the molds at the other side of the ladle or pit be left unfilled until the next pouring, which results not only in a loss of time, but also in a great waste of material, due to the cooling of the metal in the ladle, which cannot be entirely emptied of its contents by reason of the failure of one of the nozzles or stoppers to operate. Furthermore, the means heretofore employed for centering and supporting the core and withdrawing the same from the mold have failed to produce satisfactory results by reason of the difficulty experienced in centering the core and in withdrawing the same from the mold.

It is the object of myinvention to overcome these and other difficulties which have been heretofore encountered in molding steel ingots and tubular castings; and to this end my invention consists, first, in improved means for forming a series of tubes or ingots at a single pouring, and without waste of material in the gate or runners connecting the molds; second, in improved core centering and sup porting devices, combined with a central corebarrel or metallic cylinder which is adapted to contract when the centering mandrel or spindle is forced downward immediately after the molten metal is poured, so as to permit the sand core to collapse; third, in other improvements in the construction and arrangement of the apparatusall as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference are used to designate like parts of the apparatus, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a ladle and casting pit, the latter containing a group or nest of molds, shown partly in section. Fig. 2 is a plan showing the relative positions of the ladle and molds, the ladle being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section through one of the molds on an enlarged scale Fig. 4, a top plan of the same; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of one of the molds, illustrating the relative position of the funnel and interior of the casing. A in the drawings designates the usual pivoted or swinging ladle mounted in a horseshoe-shaped frame arranged above the castin -pit B on a suitable truck or carriage, which is adapted to be moved back and forth upon suitable track-rails in any well-known manner.

G O representthe molds, which are preferably arranged in groups or nests of any desired number, to be filled through a common gateway leading to each distinct set or group of molds, these several groups being preferably arranged in pairs, side by side, so as to form a continuous row of molds at either side of the casting-pit extending its entire length, each pair of nests being so arranged that the central mold or gate will be dircctlybeneath the nozzle or opening at one side of the ladle, whereby the metal maybe poured into either or both nests or groups of molds at each side of the pit,

ICO

lVith apparatus as heretofore constructed, when the nozzle or opening at either side of the ladle becomes clogged or a stopper fails to operate, as is often the case, much loss of time and waste of material result from the inability of the operative to fill the molds at that side of the pit at which the defective nozzle or stopper is located, and in order to overcome this defect I provide the ladle with the swinging trough D, (shown in operative position in dotted lines, Fig. 1,) which turns on a pivot or hinge arranged centrally of the bottom of the ladle, between the nozzles or openings in the same, so that when the mouth of the trough is arranged in position to receive the metal from either nozzle the delivery end thereof will rest directly above the gate or mold on the opposite side of the pit, where-by if either nozzle or stopper of the ladle fails to operate the attendant may ma nipulate the trough so as to fill the molds of that side of the pit on which the defective nozzle is located through the opening at the opposite sidcof the ladle. Each mold 0 consists, preferably of a cylindrical shell or casing a, in which is placed the tubular sand core I), which is centered in the cylindrical shell by means of a yielding metallic core 0, within which is placed the core-sten1 or centering-spindle d, the latter being provided with collars or enlargements e e for a purpose to be described.

The shell a is provided with a capplate or cover a, which has overlapping flanges and vent-openings f f, located above the space between the shell and the sand core, said cover being adapted to rest upon the tops of the shell or mold and the sand core, so as to aid in centering the sand core within the shell.

The contractible core 0 may consist of a suitable metallic cylinder having a slit g, Fig. 4, which extends its entire length and permits the cylinder to yield or contract under pressure to a greater or less extent, in proportion to the width of the slot which separates the contiguous edges of the slit g. The core 0 is also preferably formed with inwardlybulged portions or indentations h h, Fig. 3, which impinge against the enlargements of the centering spindle or mandrel d and serve to center the core and prevent the contraction thereof while the metal is being poured into the molds, but as soon as the pouring ceases the spindle may be lightly tapped, so as to force the enlargements thereof out of contact with the indentations h h of the core, whereupon the latter will contract and permit the sand core to collapse.

' As shown in the drawings, the nests or groups of molds are arranged in pairs, one of five molds and the other of four; but of course the number and arrangement of the molds may be varied to suit various requirements. Each group or nest of molds is provided with a common gateway, through which the molten metal is poured, and entering the top of the gate passes downward and through a runnerbrick E, (which has suitable channels leading to each mold,) and then upward into the molds, the air and gases accumulating therein being permitted to escape through the ventopenings ff.

The gate G of the nest of four is arranged centrally of the group of molds immediately below the nozzle or orifice in the ladle, as shown in Fig. l, and preferably consists of a two-part casing divided longitudinally, so that it may be separated to permit of the removal of the bar or ingot formed therein, while in the group of five the central mold forms the gate which leads directly into said mold, from which the molten metal passes to the runner-brick E at the bottom of the mold and thence to the side molds, in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, the gates in each case being provided with a funnel 2', as shown. The funnel 2' at the top of the mold, which also serves as a gate to the other molds in the same set or nest, is preferably formed integral with the cap or cover a, and the orifice in the funnel is arranged at one side of the mold, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, so as to conduct the molten metal down the side of the mold and core and thus prevent splashing and sputtering of the metal, which occurs when it is poured directly or centrally into the mold. The funnel may be made separate, however and attached to the cover in the same position above the mold and under one of the ladle nozzles or spouts.

iVith an apparatus constructed as above described I am enabled to mold a series of tubes or cylinders at a single pouring of metal and at the same time provide against the delays and waste of material incident to methods heretofore in use, the entire pouring of metal being utilized to form merchantable commodities of a superior quality, except the trifling amount of material which fills the runner-bricks at the bottom of the molds, which material, however, is preserved free from atmospheric influences and may be broken off and remelted, so as to be used in subsequent pourings, while the metal which fills the gate G forms a bar or ingot, which maybe readily removed and used or sold. By this method also the readiness with which the centering-spindle and cores may be removed after a molding and new sand cores substituted for the collapsed cores greatly enhances the efficiency of the apparatus, and by the saving of time in manipulating the various parts of the apparatus increases the total output of the mill to a considerable extent over previous methods, while the product of the mill is also of a superior quality by reason of the described method of filling and venting the molds.

Obviously a number of modifications may be made in the general construction and arrangement of parts of the apparatus without departing from the spirit of my invention, and hence I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction shown and described.

lVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination with the mold having a cylindrical shell or casing, of a detachable capplate or cover provided with a funnel at one side thereof having its aperture adjacent to the inside of the shell or casin g and adapted to receive and conduct the molten metal down the side of the mold, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for casting tubular ingots comprising a group of molds, a runner-brick channeled to connectthe bottoms of the molds with a common gateway, and a centrally-arranged mold communicating with the other molds of the group through said runner-brick, and provided with a detachable cap-plate or cover provided with vent-openings and having a funnel at one side thereof having its aperture adjacent to the inside of the shell or casing and adapted to receive the molten metal and convey the same down the side thereof, the said mold serving as a common gateway for delivering the molten metal to the channels connecting the adjoining molds and upward into said molds, substantially as described.

3. In combination with the cylindrical shell or mold, the tubular sand core centrally arranged therein, the expansible and contractible core barrel consisting of a longitudinallyslitted cylinder supported within the sand core so as to close upon itself under pressure, and provided with bill ged portions or indentations adapted to yieldingly engage the centerin g-spindle, and the core stem or spindle having the collars thereon adapted to impinge against said indentations for the purpose of centering said core-barrel and sand core within the shell, substantially as described.

4. The mold comprising the outer cylindrical shell, the tubular sand core within the shell, the yielding core-barrel consisting of a longitudinally-slitted metallic cylinder having its sides indented or bulged near each end thereof, the centering-spindle having collars thereon adapted to hit within the core-barrel and impinge against said indentations so as to hold the barrel normally expanded within the sand core, and the removable cover having the overlapping flanges adapted to rest upon the tops of the shell and sand core so as to aid in holding the parts in proper position, substantially as described.

5. The combination with the cylinder, shell or casing, of a yielding centering device arranged Within the casing, a sand core held upon the centering device, and a cap-plate or cover engaging the sand core and having an overlapping flange encompassing a portion of the shell, the said cap being provided with an inlet for the molten metal and vent-openings for the escape of air located above the space which separates the shell and sand core, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

W'lLLlAM HEOKERT. lVitnesses:

T. H. MoGoNIoA, J. H. BOLTON. 

